We’ve covered so much in the previous 4 part of this Pinterest series! The goal of this mini-series was to start with the basics and build on them over time. Now that you’ve learned to basics, got comfortable with applying them, let’s move on to the more complex parts of Pinterest.
Rich pins & how to use them
Rich pins are pins that contain all the elements of a great pin, which we covered in part 3 of this series; it will have a link to your website, bold title, metadata from your blog post and a little bit more description. It gives potential pinners more information about your pin and increases your pin engagement. As bloggers, I highly suggest you pay attention to the metadata (the SEO section) you put in your posts and use relevant keywords as it is carried over to your rich pin.
To create rich pins, you must have a Pinterest business profile, but you already have one since we created one in part 1 of this series. Pinterest has 3 different types of rich pins; product, recipes, and article. These 3 categories showcase different types of information that are useful to the users and make your organic pins… well richer.
Article rich pins will automatically update to show the most up to date information you have on your website for that particular pin; any changes to the specific blog post will be reflected in the article rich pin.
Product rich pins will show the most up-to-date availability, price, and information for your product directly on your pin. This type of rich pin is great for shop owners.
Recipe rich pins will show extra information such as all the ingredients you would need to make the recipe and show the most up to date information from your blog for this recipe. This is good if you’re a food blogger or you share recipes from time to time on your website.
While you are on your Pinterest profile, tap edit and go to the claim your website tab. Fill out the information there.
Once that’s done head over to your website or blog and we’ll start creating your rich pins. the great thing about this process is, you only have to validate one link from your domain and it will enable rich pin across the whole platform! *picks up jaw from the ground*.
Step 1: Select a page or blog post from your domain.
Step 2: Add metadata to the post, article or recipe page. Be as concise as possible and use keywords! Think of words you or your ideal reader would use to find your post.
Step 3: Once you have your metadata entered, update your post and save the URL.
Step 4: Copy and paste the URL into the rich pin validator here.
Step 5: Click Validate.
If everything shows right, then you should receive a message like the one below. Your rich pins should be showing on your Pinterest in about an hour after you validate.
If you get a message stating your link could not be validated, then go back to your post and edit the metadata to add more information. Be as specific as possible. Make it crazy easy for others to understand and find your post using keywords relevant to your topic.
Using hashtags on Pinterest
The honest truth is for me, I haven’t seen much of a difference in my engagement when I use hashtags on my pins. Pinterest usage of hashtags is fairly new and minimal in comparison to Twitter and Instagram.
It is recommended that you use no more than 20 hashtags per pin. Research the best hashtags for your brand (we will cover hashtags and how to find them in the Instagram section of this series), and use them in your pin’s description. As I said before since this is fairly new I haven’t seen much of a return on it but every little bit helps when you’re just starting. Don’t go crazy trying to add hashtags to all your pins; if you’re just starting then try to add them as you create. If you’re somewhat already established then find your top 10-20 pins and update the descriptions to add hashtags.
The same rule applies with hashtags here as other platforms; be specific! #crochet is very broad. #tunisiancrochetbeanie is 1000 times more specific.
PinCodes & how to use them
PinCode works very similarly with QRcode; you scan them with the little camera in the Pinterest app located in the search bar in your app and it takes you to the board or profile the PinCode is for.
You can create a Pincode for your profile by tapping your profile picture. Select download PinCode and share away!
Be sure to have the whole image in your frame & try it using the PinCode below!
You can use PinCodes at markets and craft shows by placing your pin codes in the tag of your products or on a board so that people can scan it, follow your Pinterest account or one of your boards. You can include a PinCode in your patterns and have it lead to that board where you saved all your original patterns. Include it on your business card. Share it on your Instagram and Facebook feed|stories to let people know where to follow you! Sharing it on Insta may be a bit tricky as they would need to be viewing your account on a tablet or computer so they can use their phone to scan it but Facebook, your blog posts, Youtube should be easy enough! There are many possibilities with this new feature.
Homework
Share your pincode on at least 2 platforms and ask others to follow your business account or a specific board using it. Don’t forget to follow them back. If you sell finished products, add the pincode to your tags and or create a sign using your pincode for upcoming markets. And finally validate your rich pins on Pinterest.
I’ll see you all next week for the final part of this series. I have enjoyed sharing these moments with you doing the lives and the blog posts. I’m still looking at creating a series for Instagram, if you’re interested in an in-depth breakdown of that specific platform, leave a comment below or DM me on Instagram @desamourdesigns.
I was finally able to make some time to check out your Pinterest series. Thank you so much for all the great info. So many things I wasn’t away of. I plan to implement of lot of your suggestions to improve my presence on Pinterest.